Golfers, don’t forget your wrists! By Dr. Stephanie Harris

Wrists are an often overlooked body part when it comes to golf. People who do stretch before golf will spend time stretching the bigger muscles of their bodies like their back, legs and shoulders, and often don’t even think about their wrists. Your wrists play an important role during your golf swing and neglecting them (not stretching or strengthening) can lead to poor performance and injury, which can keep you off the course and on your couch!

Here are a few stretches and strengthening exercises to help keep your wrists strong and to avoid those dreaded wrist injuries!

Wrist Deviation Exercises

Stand with arms at your side and your elbow bent to 90 degrees.

Hold your hand out like you are about to shake hands with someone with your thumb up (this is neutral position).

From this position, move your hand up toward the ceiling and then all the way down to the floor, keeping your forearm locked and only moving from the wrist. Repeat 10 times.

Next, place a light weight or a water bottle in your hand to provide some resistance.

Ball Squeezes

Hold a stress ball or a golf ball in your hand.

Keep your wrist in a neutral position and make a fist around the ball and squeeze.

Hold for 2 – 3 seconds, and then relax.

Perform 2 sets of 10 repetitions. Repeat on the other hand.

Wrist Flexor Stretch

Hold your arm straight out in front of you, keeping the elbow straight and the palm facing up.

Grasp the involved hand at the knuckles and gently stretch the wrist until a stretch is felt on the inside of the forearm.

Are you aware of your posture? by Dr. Stephanie Harris

Are you aware of your posture? Have you ever looked at your posture in the mirror? What does it look like? Good posture is an asset to healthy living. It is the body’s alignment and positioning with respect to gravity. Your posture is affected by your everyday activities including sitting all day at a desk, slouching in front of a computer, talking on the phone (without using a handset), bending and lifting heavy objects, and sleeping. Did you know that these activities are placing un-wanted stresses on your body?

Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit, and lie in positions where the least amount of stress is placed on your muscles and ligaments. This can be done by stretching tight muscles and strengthening weak ones. The goal is to maintain balance between your muscles and within your body…. It’s the key to living a healthy, pain free life. Proper posture can prevent sprains/strain and overuse injuries, chronic back pain, muscular pain, and headaches.

An example of the importance of maintaining good posture becomes extremely evident when lifting heavy objects. If you bend down at the waist to pick up something, you are rounding out your spine and changing the shape of your natural low back (lumbar) curve, which increases your risk for injury. The proper way to pick up a heavy item is to bend from your knees making sure you keep your natural low back curve, which equals a neutral spine.